Boxcar door opening and unloading mechanism



BOXCAR DOOR OPENING AND UNLOADING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 2, 1954 INVENTOR5 wH an 3w AUX.

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INVENTORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 1958 w. A. KOSTICK ETAL BOXCAR DOOR OPENING AND UNLOADING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 2. 1954 L 75? ,4. Kasrvcx June 1958 w. A. KOSTICK ET AL 2,840,250

BOXCAR- DOOR OPENING AND UNLOADING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Feb. 2. 1954 INVENTORS W 4 75,? A MST/CK 5X flwaean/ 2W flue/r M [flaw WWW Avrae/vfrs June 24, 1958 w. A. KOSTICK ETAL 2,840,25

BOXCAR DOOR OPENING AND UNLOADING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 2. 1954 g 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W WW United States Patent BOXCAR DOOR GPENlNG AND UNLOADING MECHANISM Walter A. Kostick, Minneapolis, and Andrew P. W. Buck, St. Paul, Minn, assignors to Air-O-Flex Equipment Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Original application February 2, 1954, Serial No. 407,748. and this application April 23, 1956, Serial No.

2 Claims. (Cl; 21454) This invention relates to car unloading, and more particular to an apparatus for unloading a conventional boxcar and removing material such as grain from the boxcar by gravity flow through the side doors thereof.

This application is divided from our co-pending application, Serial Number 407,748, filed February 2, 1954, and entitled Car Unloader and now abandoned.

A grain door comprises wooden sectional structures secured to the inner framework of the boxcar doorway so as to prevent grain and the like from spilling out during travel. Grain doors are commonly removed manually with the aid of bars and similar tools. The doors are usually removed and laid to one side when the grain is emptied from the car. Mechanical devices which push in and break loose the door sections have generally been avoided in the past because of the strain placed on the rest of the boxcar. Considerable force must be exerted to break loose the door sections against thezpressure of the material within the car.

In the unloading of the boxcar after the doors are broken loose, only a small fraction of the grain in the car will be removed through gravity alone unless the car is tilted. Tilting to the side again places strain upon the boxcar which will tend to break and twist if it is old or imperfect. Further, where the car is tilted from side to side, special pit and housing facilities must be constructed to permit the required movement. It, therefore, becomes impossible to use the side tilting method to unload a boxcar in conjunction with the standard pits such as are constructed underneath 'trackage adjacent grain elevators.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an efficient mechanism for removal of grain from a boxcar in a manner such as to minimize strain on the boxcar structure.

Another object is to provide an unloading device where in a supporting structure is tiltable together with a boxcar supported thereon in endwise fashion, the supporting structure also bearing means for automatically opening and storing the sections of both door and for guiding all of the grain out through the opened doorways during tilting thereof.

A further object of theinvention is to provide apparatus of the class described for unloading boxcars of all standard sizes irrespective of variance in dimensions by tilting the car in endwise relation over an unloading;

pit requiring no greater dimensions than those of ,conventional pits associated with existing grain elevators.

It isa still further object of the invention to provide novel apparatus mounted on a tiitable car supporting structure which will accomplish sequentially a doorbreaking operation followed by projection of vane'means for deflecting. bulk material through the doorways, of the car during tilting thereof, the car being tiltable first with one end raised to unload approximately one-half of the contents from the car, then tiltable. with the ,other end s upraised to finish the unloading operation.

2,840,250 Patented June 24, 1958 ICC.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the following descripon. m d i CQD E iQD with the accornpanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of our car. unloader showing a box car positioned, thereon and overlying the pit. Bortions of the structure are cut away to better show the internal cooperation of other parts and portions of the pit are taken in vertical section to permit viewing of the structure disposed therein. The position of the car during unloading from one end is shown in dotted line as is one of the car positioning abutments;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of our car unloader with the boxcar removed therefrom. Certain of the hidden structure is indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is an end view of our car unloader taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, portions of the structure being shown in dotted line configuration;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of our car unloader with a boxcar positioned thereon and taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 Portions of the structure are cut away and others are shown in dotted line configuration;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged and segmented view of the door breaking and retaining mechanism taken in vertical section on the line 5..5 of Fig. 1 the pressure plate being moved. inwardly against the door sections preparatory to breaking them loose at one side ofthe car. The upper position of the pressure plate andretained door sections is shown inldotted line; I

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of the material penetrating and guiding vane mechanism taken from the top as in 2, a boxcar being positioned on the unloader and horizontally sectioned and segmented to disclose the relationship between the floor and doorways with respect to the mechanism. The door sections have been removed and one pair of vanes inserted into. the boxcar prepara- V tory to tilting the car.

Portions of the structure are broken away to reveal hidden parts and other hidden parts are indicated in dotted line configuration;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section of our device and showing. details of the door breaking andretaining mechanism as well as the material penetratingfand guiding vane mechanism in extended position. Portions of the structure are cut, away and other are shown'in dotted line. The'doorsections are moved to upper retained position and the car in apexed relation; and I I Fig. 8 is a schematic representation in perspective of a boxcar in upended angulation, the bulk material therein being unloaded from one end thereof. Unessential portiou'sof the structure are cut away to better show the relationship and operation of the parts.

Referring. to the drawings, and particularly to Fig.- 1, the general over-all plan ofour car unloaderis there shown. It is contemplated that our unloader be adaptable to use with conventional grain elevators having trackage extending adjacent the elevator and havingia pit structureformed therebeneath. 'It is contemplated further that our unloading device may beinstalled over such conventional pit structures with but a. minimum of an opposed pair. of vanes are inserted into 3 PIT sTRucrURE The pit structure, as just noted, can be adapted to present unloading pits without requiring the dimensions thereofto be enlarged. Such consideration is in contradistinction toother-types of carunloaders which require deepening of the pit because of pivotal construction at the center of the car. and because of the requirement in 'some instances of sideways pivoting over an extended width. The pit structure is indicated generally at and is aligned with trackage 11 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 1

The pit is preferably lined with concrete and provides a bottom 12 and upstanding walls 13 thereabout. The central portion of the pit'is preferably enlarged at each side so as to accommodate the material receiving and i conveying device 14, which usually extends laterally from the pit and to further mechanism for elevating or otherwise disposing of the material which has been unloaded. The outline of the enlarged central portion is shown in Fig. 2 in top plan view. The material receiving and conveying device 14 comprises a bin structure 15 having sloping side walls and terminating in an open mouth 16 at the upper portion and terminating in a remay be employed in the place of mechanism 14. For

example, a screw type of conveyor could be employed for effecting lateral movement of the bulk material as it is unloaded into the pit. In addition to the enlarged medial area 'of the pit structure 10, we utilize a shallow well construction 22 at eachend'ofthe'pit 10, the well I construction being adapted to receiv ejthe abutment'members which center and hold the boxcar during tilting of the car. The wells 22 thus permit the abutments to lie out of .contact with anyHstructure above the trackage 11 when the unloader is not in operation. Details of this 1 structure will be given under the next heading.

Also forming a part of the special construction to be used in connection WithIOlll' car unloader are theconcrete supports 23,'of whichthere are four in number,

. one pair lying in spaced relation to one sideof the pit center and the other pair lying to the other side of the pit structurein equally spaced relation. The tops of the concrete supports or pillars terminate below the top plane of the pit as shown'in Fig. 3; The concrete walls 1 3, the floor 12, and the supports or pillars 23 are all designed to accommodate the heavy weight of the supported'structure comprising our invention, as well as the total weight of a loaded boxcar.

. Car supporting and and raising element Mounted in rockable interfitting relation with the pit Y structure 10 is the car supporting and end raising element shown generally at 24, special reference being had to t Figs. 1, 2'1and 3 .The element 24 has a main body constituting a platform 25 which is generally flat and co --planar. with the top ofthe pit structure 10 when in horizontal position as shown in Figs. l-3

"25 is supported by rigid 'beam members 26 which form The platform a. supporting structurel'for the upper surface 25 of the platform. It is preferred to have an extra strong I-beam as one of the supporting members 26 underlying each of .of our invention.

at the left as viewed in Fig. 1 being indicated by the numeral 30 and the shaft to the right by the numeral 31. Each of the shafts extend through its respective bearing members for a short distance and these ends are adapted to engage the cradle bearings 32 at the left and 33 at the right as viewed in Fig. 1. Each of the pairs of cradle bearings are mounted on a respective pair of concrete pillars 23 as previously described in connection with the pit structure. Additional bearing members 34 may be secured to the beam structure 26 as shown in Fig. 3, and are further adapted to retain in pivotal relation the uppermost section 35 of each of the hydraulic ram assemblies 36, at the left and 37 at the right, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The lower portion of each of the hydraulic rams 36 are pivotally mounted at 38 to support bearings 39. An identical pivotal mounting is effected at the right of the pit 10 with the hydraulic rams 37 being pivotally mounted at 38 to the same type of support bearings 39, as shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that the cradle bearings 32 and 33 are adapted either to providing a stop for the extending ends of shafts 30 and 31 and provide a pivotal support for either of the same shaft extension, depending on which one of the ends of the car supporting and end raising element 24 is advanced upwardly by the respective sets of hydraulic rams 36 or 37. Any extensible and retractable means may be employed for raising the ends of the element 24, but we prefer the hydraulic rams as shown either singly or with a plurality of hydraulic rams for each end. The means for supplying power to the extensible and retractable devices are not shown but it is understood that any source of power may be employed and that ordinary hydraulic lines for supplying'controlled pressures of hydraulic fluid to the'rams 36 and 37 may be employed. Since it would be unsafe .to raise both ends of the car supporting and .end raising element 24 at the same time, we may provide a single control element (not shown) for the rams 36 and 37 which can be actuable for raising only one end of the element 24 at a time and preventing the actuation of the other end. Such feature will provide a safety factorin the operation of the unloader.

It will be noted that the particular spacing and posi- .tioning of the hydraulic rams 36 and 37 as well as the cradle bearings 32 and 33 constitutes an important feature The selected locations tend to minimize the degree of depression of each end of element 24 when the opposite end is in raised condition. It is for this reason thatwe can obtain the necessary degree of angulation in raising the car supporting and end raising element while not requiring the upper end to be unusually high in the 'air, nor to require the lower end to be unusually deep in a pit. Further, our lifting arrangement does not require a large amount of power even when adopting our invention to a standard pit structure. It should be noted that the particular spacing of the pivoting positions is such as to result in good balance throughout the raising and lowering as well as during unloading of the car.

The boxcar which is accommodated by our unloader is indicated generally at 40 and may be of any conventional type having doorways 41 and 42 at each side thereof, the said doorways being adapted to receive door sections such as grain doors which are usually nailed to the doorway from the inside of the car. An outer sliding door 43 is provided for each of the doorways 41 and 42 and these may be mounted on a rail 44 at each side of a pair of rails27 which are secured, in turn, to the eleat each side. of. the .open grill work 28. Each pair of i (bearings 29 have a shaftextending thereacross, the shaft ally of the platform.

the boxcar on trolley assemblies 45 as shown in Fig. 1.

Our invention will accommodate all conventional box Means for 'finally centering the boxcar and for ,preventing movement of :the car during tilting thereofcomprise-apair ofabutment-mzmbers49, one disposed at each end of the-car supporting and endraising element.

The abutmentmembers d9 may be heavy castings having ahollow central portion 51) and provided with an abut- .tinghead 51 as shown in- Fig. 1. The abutment-members 49 are each equippedwith a-bearing block 52 which,

inturn, hasa pair of horizontally fixed locking bars 52a .and a transversely extending shaft 53 rotatably journalcd therewithin. A longitudinal shaft 54 extends for the -length=of the element 24' and is powered at a medial location by-the motor 55 which drives shaft 54through .pinionrgear 56 and thedriven gear 57, the latter being' to retract the abutmentsdivergently when rotating in theother direction. The full line showing of the abut- .ments 49in Fig. v1 represent the fully abutted convergent .relation with the boxcar 4t) firmly centered and held .againstdisplacementfrom between the abutments. The

which .will de-energize and brake the motor when a predetermined degree-ofpressurehas been attained between =the,abutments '49 and the lower framework 60-of boxcar 40. During non-use of our unloader, the abutments .49 may bernoved divergentlyinto lowered position within the respective wells 22. Thismovement isaccomplished through slidingand rolling relation on a pair of tracks :61

, whichare supportedupon the beam structure 24 as shown in Fig. l. The bearing block 52 rests slidably on the tracks .61 at the inward end of each of abutments49 and a pair of rollers 62 arejournaled for free rotation-at the outwardends of .each of theabutments 49 and likewise contact the tracks -61. A track extension or guide way :61a is formed at-each sideof well 22 and-in alignment withtrac'k 61. An outwardlyand downwardly angled pa'iro'ftrack members 63 are positioned in-each ofthe wellsl2'2 land have their upper ends in 'mating relation with therespectivepairs of. tracks61. As the'abuLnents '49 are forced .divergently, the .rollers 62 will follow the tracks 63in declining relation while the transversely extending shaft 53 pivots within the bearing .block 52.

Y'Whenfthe longitudinal shaft 54 has rotated with its threaded. end 59in :threa'dablerelation with the transverse shaft '53 a sufficient number of turns to position the abutment 49, as shown by dotted lines in the well 22 at the left of pit as shown in Fig. 1, then the abutment will clear the under framework 60 of the boxcar 40 so that "the boxcar may be placed or removed uponthesupporting platform 25, as desired, the locking bars '52aextending across the gap'22a and-locking the supporting platform 'together'withthe pit structure 10.

Door "breaking and retaining mechanism The door breaking and retaining mechanism is indi- .cated generally at 64, as shown in Fig. 1, and constitutes .mechanism which is mounted .at'both sides of theycar supporting and end raising element 24 by 'means of uprights or supports 65 which, in turn, are supported onl-beams 66rigidly supported in spaced parjallehdependingrelation frornthe bottom of framework 26, -.as"

shown in Fig. 1. The l-ibeams 66 also provide track rneans for movingthe uprights 64 vdivergently and Icon- ;vergently awayfrom and toward the sides of :boxcar 40; lhe uprights :65 have inwardly extending .plate mem- ..bers..67 which lie closely adjacent the inside edgesofthe .I-be'ams 66in spaced relation at each side of car 40,

aswshown in Figs. :1, 4 and 7. Each pair of plates-67 have positionedthereacrossa rod or shaft 68. A shaft 70 -is likewise -journale'd across each upright 65 ,at the side panels 71 which extend inwardly at the side edges :of-eachoftheuprights 65. Each of the shafts or'rods 68 and 70 extend beyond the journaled supports and .the shaft 70 is provided with a supporting castor'72 :at each-end, the castor 72;restingontheuppersurface ofeach'of the I-bearns66, as shown inFigs. 1-.and4. The shaft 68 has a similar castor'73 securedat each outer extension thereof which is adapted-to rideupon the inside lower portion of each I-beam '66, as shown in-Figs. 1- and 4. An extensible and retractable power element such as-the hydraulic ram 74 is s'ecuredat 75 to each side ofthe-unloader and-in rigid relation tothe supporting framework 26 while-each extensible inwardly extendingmember thereof is secured to rods 68 respectively as shown in'detail in Fig.7, .Both pairs of flanges 67"are'-tied together underneath framework 26 by the spacedtoggle arms 76, which are,.in turn, diametrically mounted on a shaft 77 which is mounted parallel-to the .shafts'68-and 70 and across depending bracket members 78 which are secured in spaced relation to the'under side -.of the supporting framework 26. The corresponding 7 outerends of thetoggle arms 76are interconnected by -short-cross rods 79 which, in turn,pivotally support the two'pairseof connecting arms 80, as shownin Fig. 7. The

ytwo pairs :of.connectin g arms 80 each extend diametriimotor -55 may be provided withautomatic stop means' @cally in the opposite direction and are pivotally 'con- Inected with-the rods or shafts 69 which were, as previ- :ously noted, secured across each pair of flanged-members'67. Again,the means for extending-andretracting thezopposedpair of uprights 65 mayhave :power'means -.(not shown) to operate them inwardly and outwardly from the sides of boxcar 40. Thus, where hydraulic r-ams -74 are employed, a sourceof-hydraulic-power :with

interconnectinghydraulic lines is to be supplied. 'The toggle arms do not serve to impart driving force to the uprights- 65, but cause the uprights to 'travel in unison when the power means is actuated in either a forward or reverse direction. The I-beams 66 serve as .track --members for the roller elements 72 and 73 andserve ;to maintain the directional travel of the'two uprights 65 in perfectly aligned relationship.

The v uppenportion of each of the uprights 65 comprises a pair ofstandards 81 whichare rigidly secured .in spaced relation oneach'of the uprights and are further ,provided with rigid cross supports 82 and 83, respectively, on the'right and left uprights '65, the cross member 83 being located at a slightly elevated position with relation to the: cross member-:82 for a :purpose to vbe presentl-y described. Each-of the uprights '65 have apair ofinwardly extending brackets '84 and =85 on the uprights to. the left and right respectively as viewed in Figs. *4 and 7, the brackets 85 being positioned slightly higher than the brackets *84. Journaled across the ..br ackets 8-4 is a shaft 86 from which depends in pivotal swinging relation a rigid pressure plate 87, the pres- .sure plater87being slidably mounted on the frame 88 which, in turn, is mounted at its upper ends upon the shaft 86. A trip latch 89 is secured to the.frame 88 through' a pivo'tal connection 90, thetrip latch 89 hav- .inga-feelingfinger extension 9l which extends forwardly ,of ;pressure plate 87 andto one side thereof while the aatch portion' 92 underlies the under edge of the "pressure plate, asishownin 'Fig. 5. The latch 89has a later- -all-ytextending radial arm 93 having an opening through which :IOd 94 extends in loose relationship, the rod 94 .beingrigidly secured to a mounting bracket 95 which, .mturn, is fastened to frame 88. A compression springthe latch in supporting relation under the pressure plate armrnechanism maybesupplied at theleft side of car 40 1 as viewedfiri Figs. 3, 4 and 7, withthe exception of the 7 relative heights therebetween, the entire pressure plate mechanism being higher at the left side than at the right- Referring now to Fig. 4, an extensible and retractable powermeans such as hydraulic ram 98 is pivotally suspended at 99 from the cross brace 82 on I the rightupright 65 and an identical ram may be similarly supported to the leftupright 83. A slidable rod 8 extension 100 projects from the ram. 98 and is pivotally secured through a clevis connection at 101 intermediate the ends of a cam arm 102 on each of the uprights'65.

The cam arm 102 is pivotally mounted at 103 to the I upright standards 81, as'shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 7. The outer end of cam arm 102 bears a cam roller 104 which is freely rotatable in a clevis 105, as shown iri Fig. 1. r The cam roller 104 and arm 102 are shown in Fig. in rolling contact with the outer surface of frame 88 so as to exert clockwise movement of frame 88 and the pressure plate 87 about the pivotal point 86 at the right :Ihand upright 65, shown in Fig. 5, and a similar structure is mounted to the left upright 65 as shown in Fig. ",4,- the direction of rotation of the pressure plate being counterclockwise as viewed in that figure. understood that a source of power such as hydraulic --.supply lines may be connected to the hydraulic rams 98. Referring to Fig. 7, it will be noted that when the hydraulic rams 98 are actuated upwardly the loose door sections 97 at each side of the car will be moved inwardly toward the inside top of car 40. The higher of the pressure plates 87, at the left as viewed in Figs. 4 and 7, will automatically'place it in overlapping relation :lwith the pressure plate of the right side.

prevent the door breaking and retaining mechanism from Again it is colliding as the pressure plates are urged inwardly, it is necessary to operate the plates sequentially, causing the hydraulic ram 98 to the leftto first carry the door sections 97 in proximity to the ceiling of car 40 then 1 following withthe pressure plate atthe right to bring the door section from the right side of the car into underlying relationwith thefirst named pressure plate. Itis preferred that pointed elements such as the pins; 105 be In the event a door section tained by the grill work 28 and prevented from entering the receiving hopper 15. Referring to Fig. 5, it will be noted that an abutment 87a on the pressure plate 87 willbe engaged by roller 104 and pressure plate 87, together with door sections 97, will be pulled outwardly =on frame 88 until latch 89 is' automatically reset, the

spring 96 causing the portion 92'toagain underlie pressure plate 87.

Material penetrating and guiding vane mechanism Referring 'now to the Figs 2, 6 andj 7, the material penetrating and guiding vane mechanism is indicated .generally at. 106. The mechanism 106 is mounted onthesame fupright mounting structure .65 that supports the door breaking and retaining mechacnism. In addition,'a

, rigid sheathing plate 107 isrigidly secured to the beam structure 26 er the car supporting and 'end raising element 24' and supplies the multiple purpose of providing an encasing guard for the mechanisms attached to the' upright supports and also provides a flat bearing sur face for rollingcontact at the. rearward end of the vanes themselves, as will be presently described. The guiding In order to vanesare four in number, two being located on each of the upright supports 65 and angulated with respect to one another, as shown in Fig. 2, guide vanes 110 and 111 being located at the other side of our unloader. The guide vanes are extensible and retractable and are preferably formcd of a plurality of telescoping rectangular members, the innermost section 112 in each case being projectible the farthest outwardly and having a beveled outer edge 113 as shown in Fig. 6. The next section 114 of each of the guidevanes receives the outermost section 112 and, in turn, is received by the innermost section 115 which has an upstanding shaft 116 rigidly secured to the top thereof, as shown in Fig. 7. Each of the shafts 116 on each of the innermost vane sections is rotatably and slidably retained in a sleeve bearing 117. The sleeve bearing 117, in each instance, is mounted between spaced brackets 118, the brackets 118 being rigidly secured to the uprights 65 in paired relation at each side of the unloader. Each of the guide vanes 108 throngh 111 is adapted to be retained at an upper position by a rearwardly extending cam bracket 119 having a cam surface 120 and a retaining surface 121, as shown in Fig. 7. I prefer to have the cam bracket 119 bifurcated so that a portion thereof extends to both sides of the sleeve member 117 when the outermost vane section 112 is retracted completely, as in the case of the guide van member 110,

shown in Fig. 7. When in this retracted position, the retaining surface 121 overlies and rests upon a pair of 124, the other end being secured at 125 to each side of each of the uprights 65 as shown in Figs. 2, 6 and 7. The outer edge of section 115 in each instance is provided with a castor 126 which is mounted for free rotation thereon and is adapted to contact the inner face of plate 107 at each side of our unloader. Mounted internally of the telescoped vane sections 112, .114 and 115 is a hydraulic ram 127, the rear end thereof being secured at 128 on section 115 and the forward end of the ram plunger 129 beingsecured to, the inside of the forward beveled edge 113, as shown in Fig. 7. Each of the hydraulic rams 127 may be provided with hydraulic supply tubes (not shown) and controlled for extension and retraction in and out of the car doorways 41 and 42, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The guide vanes are adapted to operate in penetrating fashion into the bulk material within the boxcar 40 and to meet with the forward beveled edges 113 in apexed relation, as shown in Fig. 6.

When the sections of the vanes 111 and 109 are withdrawn from apexed relation then the vanes 108 and 110 may be similarly extended in oppositely pointed apex as will be presently described.

OPERATION i the aligned tracks 61 until the abutting faces 51 of abutment members 49 exactly center the car 40 and maintain the car frame 60 in secure pressing engagement. The I motor 55 is then de-energized with the abutment members 49 remaining in their holding relation and the outside car'doors 43 having been moved to one side to expose the'innerdoor sections whichare nailed over each of the side doorways 41 and 42.

The hydraulic ram 74 is then caused to extend inwardthe doorwaysf4 1 and 42 from the retracted position 9 shown in Fig. 2to the position shown in Fig. 7. The latch 89 will, of course, be first contacted by the door sections 97 and trip the prersure plate 87 so that it will drop to the floor of car 46) and on continued inward movement of supports 65 will break the door sections loose from the doorways 41 and 42 in sequence fromtop to bottomat each side, the rollers 104 serving as positioning member to.achieve angularity. Since the pressure is equal and opposite, there will be no tilting movement or strainon the framework of boxcar 40 except for .the pulling-of any fastening means such as nails which may have been applied through the'door sections to the inside of the car doorways. As previously noted, the

height of car floor 46 may vary from car to car and,

.hence, the slidable arrangement of the pressure plates travel on the inside face of the plate 107 so as to maintain contact therewith during the change in angulation. The tension springs 124 tend to retract the guide vane and maintain the rolling contact between the castors 126 and the plates 107 at each side of car 40.

The hydraulic rams 98 are then retracted sequentially, the one at the left in Figs. 4 and 7 moving upwardly first, followed by the one to the right, causing the pressure plates 87 to move radially with respect to the axes of shafts 85 and 86. As soon as the door sections are loosened, bulk material such as grain to be unloaded from the car 40 will begin to flow outwardly through the doorways around the door sections. The conveyor mechanism and receiver 14 may be started preliminary to the breaking of the door so that there will not be a surplus of grain piled up in the receiving hopper at the time the car is ultimately unloaded. As soon as the car doors are broken loose and impaled upon the points 105 on each of the pressure plates, the pressure plate to the left in Fig. 7 is swung upwardly while the hydraulic ram 98 is momentarily at rest. As soon as the left pressure plate 87 has reached a horizontal position beneath the ceiling of car 40, the hydraulic ram 98 at the right in Fig. 7 is then caused to retract .and raise its corresponding arm and pressure plate into underlying horizontal relation and out of contact with the bulk material to be unloaded. As previously noted, the frame and pressure plate to the left, as viewed in Fig. 7, is preferably mounted at a higher position so as to assist the sequential operation and to provide the necessary overlap when the door breaking and retaining mechanism has reached its retaining position.

The uprights 65 remain in proximity to the sides of car 40 with the guide vanes angulated as in Fig. 6. One pair of hydraulic rams 127, such as disposed respectively in the guide vane members 109 and 111 are then caused to extend simultaneously with the vane sections 112 and 114 extending as in Fig. 6. Here again, provision is made for variations in the height of car floors 46 from one conventional boxcar to the other. As the most forwardly moving vane section 112 begins to move toward the inside of car 40, the cam bracket 119 will at first be supported on roller 122 and then will drop oif the roller and permit the entire guide vane in each instance to drop downwardly, the shaft 116 sliding downwardly within the sleeve 117 until the bottom edge of the guide vane strikes the car floor 46. The opposed pair of vanes 109 and 111 are then further simultaneously extended until the beveled forward edges 113 come together in an apex pointing to the left, as viewed in Fig. 6. The vanes will then lie in a guiding relation completely across car floor 46 with their planes angulated to the transverse perpendicular and in upstandingrelation with.respect to .the-.car

floor 46. Thebeveled leading edgesiassistithevanes,in penetrating thebulkmaterial-whichhas not alreadyspilled from the doorways 41 and :42 into the receiving and conveyingmechanism. a

The car-supporting and end "raisinglmechanism 'is'then activated at the-left, as viewed in-'Fig.=6, hydraulictrarn 36 projecting-upwardly tottilt car '40 .as zshown in.-.dotted line in Fig. l. Theshaft 31 towardthe other end-ofsthe car will remain in pivotal cradled relation withthe hearing 33 and thuswill permit :the lower'endofcar 40'and the right end of element .-24:to ;swing-dovmwardly-into pitlt). The bulk material in .theraised endaoftboxcar 40 will then flow downwardly. and outwardly-in;guided relation against the guide vanes;109 and l -11', beingapproximately-equally dividedinits flow through bothdoorways. The unloading operation requires buta-fewiseconds for-emptying half-of:th e=car-40 and the '-.hYdI-3.Uli0 ram 36'is then lowered until-the shaft -is cradled-tin bearing 32 at the left, as' shown inFig. '1. The vanes 109 and-111 are then causedsto retract toitheir respective' rams 127, the ,camibracketQ 119 engagingrollers 1122 :at

cam face 120 and again raising. the 'vanes to the; position vanes 108 and Il -10, are then 2 caused to {project :in: exactly the same manner as the first noted pair of vanes except the direction in which the apex points when the beveled leading edges 113 are closed together. In this instance, the apex will be formed to the right and opposite to that shown in Fig. 6. The hydraulic ram 37 is then extended with shaft 30 remaining in cradled relation with bearings 32 and pivotally thereon. The right end of car 40 will then be raised in the same manner as previously noted and the bulk material will be caused to flow from the unloaded upper end downwardly and outwardly in guided relation against vanes 108 and 110.

The car is then lowered to the full line position shown in Fig. l, and the guide vanes all retracted from the car doorways. The pressure plates 87 are then lowered in reverse sequence, the grain doors being removed or returned to the car, as desired. Finally the uprights 65 are simultaneously pulled divergently from the sides of car 40, causing the vanes 108 through 111 to be likewise retracted and in complete clearance with the sides of car 40. Abutments 49 are then retracted into wells 22, the locking bars 52a each bridging gap 22a at the ends of the platform framework 26 in securing relation with the guideways 61a. The empty car may then be removed from the supporting platform 24. 7

It may thus be seen that we have provided a quick and unique method of removing the doors from such boxcars as are used to transport grain and then to unload the boxcar from both sides thereof, the apparatus devised therefor being adaptable to buildings and pit structures now conventionally used in connection with railroad trackage.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, detail, arrangement and proportion of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. In unloading apparatus for a railroad boxcar of the type having conventional removable door sections at each side and loacted on support means for endwise tilting,

door sections at the top, then sequentially downward,- said plates being mounted on respective p-ivotal'arms swingable upwardly in overlapping relation to dispose the door sections closely beneath the ceiling of the boxcar,

. a pair of upstanding material-penetrating and guiding and means for simultaneously projecting and retracting said'pair of vanes angularly through the respective doorways and in contact with the floor of the boxcar into juxtaposition in an apex to guide and direct'said material downwardly and outwardly through the car doors when said car is in endwise raised position with said apex disposed at an upward angle, and a second pair of upstanding material-penetrating and guiding vanes mounted one i on each side of said support means, and means for simultaneous'lyprojectingand retracting said second pair of vanes angularly in a similar manner through said doorways in contact with the floor of the boxcar into juxtaposition in an apex whose direction is opposed to that of said first mentioned apex whereby to guide and direct i said material downwardly through the car doors when said car is in oppositely raised position with the second mentioned apex disposed at an upward angle.

2. In unloading apparatus for a railroad boxcar of the type having conventional removable door sections at each side and located on support means for endwise tilting over a pit having a material-receiving and conveying device positioned at the bottom thereof, the combination of a door breaking and retaining mechanism mounted at each side of said support means and each having an inwardly swingable plate pivotally secured at its upper end and initially angled upwardly and inwardly toward the re 4 movable door sections, means for moving said angulated plates convergently for breaking loose the door sections at each side of the boxcar, first at the top, then sequentially downward, impaling points disposed at the working face of each of said swingable plates for retaining the door sections upon said plates subsequentlyv to their breaking loose, means connected to said plates for swinging the same sequentially on their pivotal mounts to bring the door sections in overlapped relation closely beneath the ceiling of the boxcar, and material-penetrating and guiding vanes mounted on each side of said support means References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 814,610 Lefierts Mar. 6, 1906 1,446,303 Hill Feb. 20, 1923 1,451,748 Vaughan et al. Apr. 17, 1923 1,542,951 Perkins June 23, 1925 

